Method of preparing and placing artificial eyelashes

Abstract

Prefabricated artificial eyelash strips are prepared for use by trimming the lash fibers with scissors oriented substantially parallel to the lash fibers, and subsequently cutting the base into a plurality of sections.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a method of preparing artificial eyelashes subsequent to fabrication but prior to placement on the eye, and in a preferred embodiment, to a particular method of positioning the lashes on the eye.

Artificial or false eyelashes have long been used as standard makeup for stage and screen use, and in recent years have become a commonly used beauty aid for most women for social purposes. The most popular type of commercially available eyelashes consist of a large number of hairs or hair-like fiber strands tied to a flexible central base of silk, nylon, or other plastic material. The flexible base is precut to a length approximating the length of the upper eyelid, and the lash is then applied to the lid just above the real eyelashes with a surgical glue or other adhesive substance. After application of the false eyelash, the base is usually covered with an eyeliner which may be a pigmented liquid material, or a leather, plastic, or fabric material. An example of a false eyelash made in combination with a solid eyeliner is found in McCullough, U.S. Pat. No. 3,447,542, issued June 3, 1969.

I have found that the use by women of commercially available false eyelashes in may cases substantially defeats their intended purpose. While most women hope to achieve an effect with false eyelashes that looks "natural," in fact the density and uniformity of the lashes on the base, and the exaggerated length of the fibers, create a very artificial appearance to the eyelashes. While many women attempt to trim the length of the lash fibers, they simply shorten all of the lashes uniformly, and the lashes retain their thick, regular, synthetic appearance. A typical example of a method of manufacturing false eyelashes and shortening the lashes by trimming along the base with scissors is found in Meehan, U.S. Pat. No. 3,032,042, issued May 1, 1962.

In addition, placement of the artificial eyelash on the eye is quite difficult, since the base tends to be flexible and sticky from the necessary adhesive. Most available eyelashes are furnished with bases having a length of at least one inch, and typically about 1 1/4 inch, and accurate placement of the whole length can be quite clumsy; this problem is accentuated by the fact that the flexible base is straight whereas the eyelid is a curved surface, creating a tendency of the base to bunch along the eye. Recognizing the difficulty of applying a sticky, limp thread-like base, some manufacturers have built bases that have a slightly plastic, resilient nature. Although perhaps easier to apply, these bases suffer even more dramatically from the incongruity of the shapes of the base and the eyelid, and tend to come loose or pop up at the ends. The discovery of a loose or hanging eyelash at a social function can of course have devastating effects on a woman's self-confidence.

In an effort to obviate the problems of adequate adhesion and unnatural appearance of strip-base false eyelashes, individual lash fibers have been sold for attachment one-by-one to the eyelid. While with suitable trimming these lashes could be made to achieve a natural appearance, they are quite difficult and time-consuming to apply, and would normally require the services of an experienced operator for satisfactory application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

I have discovered that a more beautiful, natural-looking appearance can be achieved with false eyelashes if, prior to application, the eyelashes are trimmed by making a series of chopping-type cuts with a scissors with the cutting plane of the scissor blade maintained substantially perpendicular to the length of the eyelash base member and, if the hairlike lash fibers extend in parallel fashion from the base, substantially parallel to the lash fibers. After trimming, the base is cut into a plurality of sections, and the sections are then placed individually above the user's lashes along the eyelid adjacent to each other. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, in applying the lash sections to the eyelid, the last section toward the outside of the eye is placed on the eyelid in a position having a lesser downward slope than the natural eyelash line, thereby providing an "opening" and enlarging effect to the eye.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a commercially available artificial eyelash prior to preparation according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows the eyelash positioned for trimming;

FIG. 3 shows the method of cutting the base into sections;

FIG. 4 shows the lash trimmed and cut and ready for placement; and

FIG. 5 shows the proper placement of the lash sections on the eyelid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a commercially available false eyelash 1 having fibers 2 tied to the base 3, which is a thin, slightly resilient band made from synthetic fibers. The band is preferably as thin as possible, while still maintaining sufficient strength to hold the lash fibers and not deteriorate. The band is desirable dark or flesh colored, but may be clear or white in which case eye liner must be used to cover the base after application. The lash illustrated has the individual fibers unevenly distributed along the base, and while I prefer such clump-type distribution for ease of application, my method of preparation works well on all artificial lashes regardless of how the lashes are constructed or distributed.

The proper method of trimming and "feathering" (thinning) the lashes is shown in FIG. 2. Although the commercial eyelash of FIG. 1 is advertised to be pretrimmed and prefeathered, I find that the lash will look very unnatural and obtrusive unless prepared for use according to my invention. Artificial eyelash 1 is placed lengthwise along finger 4, with the lashes extending generally away from the direction of the other fingers. If necessary, additional adhesive can be used to retain the base on the finger, but usually the lashes are sold with a pre-applied adhesive backing which will be sufficient to stick the base to the finger. Small scissors 5 are held in the opposite hand, shown with scissor blades 6 and 7 positioned above and below the lash fibers, respectively, in a cutting plane substantially perpendicular to the eyelash band and the direction of the extended finger. I then make a series of rapid chopping-type cuts along the lash, moving the scissors along the length of the base while keeping the cutting plane approximately perpendicular to the base, until the length of the fibers is substantially reduced, and a somewhat irregular appearance is created in the fibers as shown in FIG. 4. Whereas the lash shown in FIG. 1 has individual lash fibers up to 3/4 inch long, I prefer to have a maximum fiber length in the finished product of about 3/8 inch. More important, however, is the random fiber length created by chopping perpendicular to the base. The number of chops required may vary widely with the density of fibers on the base and tendency of the fibers to extend at an angle away from the cutting plane; for example, the lash shown in FIG. 1 has a number of fibers which extend from the base in a plane other than perpendicular, whereas other false eyelashes have fibers which all extend in a uniform, parallel fashion from the base. In many cases it may be necessary to shorten most or all of the fibers of the eyelash; if the lash fibers are short as manufactured, it may be sufficient to shorten only a plurality, e.g., 25%, of the fibers. The slight natural unsteadiness in the hand, thus causing variations in the cutting plane away from the perpendicular, also serves to hasten the thinning process. I prefer to keep the cutting plane always within about 20.degree. from the perpendicular, and preferably within about 10.degree. from the perpendicular. For the lash illustrated as number 1 in the drawings, perhaps 75-100 chops would be necessary to adequately thin and trim the lash.

After trimming, I cut the base of each false eyelash into a plurality of sections as shown in FIG. 3. While my method of cutting the base into sections is adequate, for convenience I leave the lash extended on my finger after trimming and simply cut the base 3 with the points 9 of scissor blades 10, forming sections 11 as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. I then remove the sections individually as needed for application to the eyelid, or for storage for future use. In general, I prefer to use from four to seven, preferably five or six, sections for each base; three or fewer sections usually does not provide sufficient flexibility of placement of the eyelashes, and more than seven sections is unnecessarily timeconsuming and difficult to handle. A typical section measures about 3/8 inch along the base, but may be as much as 1/8 inch longer or shorter if desired. Preferably the sections are between about 5/16 inch and 7/16 inch. While the sections shown in the drawings are approximately equal in length, it is possible to make some sections longer or shorter than others if desired.

The lash sections are placed on the eyelid above the natural eyelash line with conventional adhesive; the sections may be placed using a pair of tweezers or like instrument, or by transferring each section from the fingertip to the eyelid. Referring to FIG. 5, the sections are applied beginning at the inside of the eye 12 and working outward, preferably applying the first section 14 beginning about 1/4 inch - 3/8 inch from the tear duct 13. In other words, no false eyelash sections are applied on the innermost portion of lid 20, since extra lashes on this section of the eye do not enhance its beauty and creates an appearance of narrower eyes; i.e., appears to bring the eyes closer together. Subsequent sections 15-17 are also placed in adjacent fashion along the lid. Placement of the last section is important, however, since it preferably does not follow the line of the eye. Section 18 is placed having a substantially lesser downward slope than the natural eye line, and may approach a horizontal placement. This angular displacement of the lash from the eye line "opens" the eye, and gives it a larger, more attractive appearance, particularly in women who have fleshier eyelids. Depending on the fleshiness of the eyelid, and the degree of illusion desired, immediately preceding sections to the outermost section can also be placed angularly to the normal eyelash line.

After application of the eyelashes, the base is covered with eye liner by conventional means. I use a 000 artist's sable brush dipped in the appropriate color of eyeliner liquid, dotting the base until all light-colored spots are covered.

It will be understood that many variations in types of false eyelashes, cutting mechanisms, and adhesives may be used and still come within the scope and spirit of my invention. My preparation method will be effective for substantially any type of false eyelash, although it is most successful for those having a relatively heavy fiber density for the lash members. The type of construction of the base, and the materials used to make the lash fibers and the base, are not critical to the invention. Similarly, any type of nontoxic adhesive may be used to attach the lash section to the eye. In addition, while I have described the use of hand-operated scissors for feathering and trimming the lashes, any cutting means capable of performing substantially the same function as the scissors may be used, such as reciprocating razor edges or knives.

Claims

I claim:

1. A method of preparing prefabricated artificial eyelashes having hairlike fibers extending outwardly from a flexible base member which comprises cutting the base member into a plurality of sections having section lengths of 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the section lengths are from 5/16 inch and 7/16 inch.

3. A method of preparing prefabricated artificial eyelashes having hairlike fibers extending outwardly from a flexible base member which comprises shortening a plurality of the hairlike fibers with cutting means oriented in a plane substantially perpendicular to the base member, and subsequently dividing the base member into a plurality of sections.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the base member is divided into a plurality of sections having individual lengths of from about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the base member is divided into from four to seven sections having individual lengths of from about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein the base member is divided into from five to six sections having individual lengths of from about 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch.

7. A method of applying false eyelashes to an eye comprising adhering a plurality of false eyelash sections having base member lengths of from about 1/4 inch to about 1/2 inch to the eye immediately above the natural eyelash line, and adhering at least one outermost false eyelash section substantially above, and at an outwardly opening angle to, the natural eyelash line.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the innermost false eyelash section is placed such that the nearest edge of the base is not less than 1/4 inch from the closest part of the tear duct of the eye.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the number of sections used is from four to seven.